Something in Common
by vampyremiyu
Summary: Yuki has gone missing and it's up to Zero and Kaname to find her. And what they discover is quite surprising indeed.


SOMETHING IN COMMON  
A Vampire Knight Challenge Fanfic

Written by Miyu, Vampire Princess

CHALLENGE: Pick a Loser. Pick one of the themes that hasn't won yet in any of the polls. So I chose - KINDAPPING...not necessarily the really scary kind, but a scare and a pleasant surprise. (loser from week 62)

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Something serious and funny. Sort of. On both counts. A Standard Disclaimer appears at the end of the story.

--

"Are you sure that's what it said?"

"Do you know of any other "faces of the stone gargoyle?"

A pause. "No."

A nod. "I didn't think so."

Kaname Kuran clenched his hands into fists, eyes glaring daggers at the presumptious young man standing just feet in front of him. They had been alone together for all of fifteen minutes. Fifteen minutes of non-stop bickering. Nine hundred seconds of continuous taunting.

And each minute, each second, brought them closer to mauling the each other.

Both were strong in their own right -- vampires with superior strength -- and each an intelligent hunter. On any other day, Kaname would have avoided the young man with him. Any other time he would let his rude words and uncaring manner roll off of him easily. His hands clenched tighter, fingernails digging into his palm. Oh yes, Kaname wanted Zero Kiryu dead.

But their joining of forces had a purpose. A great one. Sighing, he willed his hands to unclench, his body to relax. The anger began to melt as he focused on the point of their adventure.

"Hey, I think I found something."

Yuki was missing.

"Let me see that."

Zero growled in the back of his throat, his amber eyes showing his anger too easily. He said nothing though as Kaname took the scrap of paper from his hands. He'd read enough to know he had no clue what this note meant. But it led to Yuki. And to him, that's all that mattered.

It was his turn to sigh, to force himself to relax. True, he would rather kill Kaname than work with him. Despite his own misfortunate transformation, Zero loathed vampires. But he was also smart enough to know that the headmaster asked them to work together for a reason.

"Missing?"

"What do you mean 'missing'?"

Headmaster Cross looked both serious and fearful. With a light flourish, he brandished an envelope and offered it to the two students before him. "I received this earlier this afternoon."

"A death threat?" "A ransom notice?"

"I'm not entirely sure." He nodded to Kaname, who had taken the envelope. "It looks more like a clue."

Zero raised a skeptical eyebrow. "A clue?"

"You will find direction before the faces of the stone gargoyle," Kaname read. He thought a moment then shook his head. "What does this mean?"

"That's what you and Kiryu are going to find out."

"You're kidding, right?!" "Surely you aren't serious?"

"It could mean Yuki's life." He studied them both and knew he had their attention. Then he said, "She's been missing since this afternoon. She has not been in her room and the teachers say she missed her last few classes."

"That's not like her," Kaname said.

"When did you get the note," asked Zero.

"About an hour ago, just before dark."

"And she hasn't been seen yet?" That from Kaname.

The Headmaster shook his head.

Kaname looked at Zero, sizing him up. "I can find her on my own."

"Not if I find her first," Zero muttered.

"Now, now, no fighting. I called you both here because I believe you both bring something valuable. I want the two of you to work together to find my little Yuki."

And that had been the end of it. The boys were then shoved from the office and left to fend for themselves. Disgusted, they remained silent for some time before Zero figured out the clue.

"I know where this is. Let's go."

Now it was Kaname's turn to feel macho. It was not a feeling he was used to. However, proving his intelligence over that of a vampire hunter's offspring thrilled him to no end. A feeling equivalent to a successful hunt. He would be sure to rub it in later.

But when Zero figured out the next clue, the bubble was busted.

And so it continued, figuring out clues in turn until they reached what they hoped would be the final clue (as they had every clue since the hunt began).

"This is getting us nowhere fast," Zero said as the approached their sixth clue of the night.

"I ,too, wonder when this game will end."

There was, for the first time since the night began, an amiable silence. They had never lost focus on their goal. It was the one thing they had managed to agree on, albeit silently, until this point. Knowing the other was frustrated with their fruitless search was somewhat comforting.

Zero broke the silence with a sincere question. "Do you think she's all right?"

"They have given us no cause to worry," Kaname answered logically. "But I think our Yuki can handle herself."

Zero overlooked Kaname's "slip" on purpose. "You're right."

"Of course." Kaname then added, "However, we must move quickly."

"The later it gets, the worse it could be."

"Correct."

With the last location identified, they moved wordlessly through the grounds of the school. It had not occurred to either that each location was located on the campus of Cross Academy. It had not occurred to either that each clue had been written in the same neat script.

It had not occurred to either that their troubles would lead to a newfound respect for each other. Granted neither would verbally admit it.

It certainly didn't occur to either of them that they had been set up.

"Surprise!"

They were dumbfounded to find Yuki, all dressed up in dark blue velvet and black lace. Even more stupefied to see a small spread of food laid out on a covered table, three place settings neatly arranged around a large candelabra. More puzzling yet was that it was all in the basement of the Moon Dorm!

"Yuki?"

"You're safe?"

"Of course," she replied, a bit puzzled.

"I'm so glad you boys could join us!"

The Headmaster appeared from behind Yuki. He was dressed in his usual attire, a large smile on his face. The smile, however, faded as he took a good look at the boys. They did not look as happy to see him as they had his daughter. In fact, they looked a bit angry.

This was not lost on Yuki. "You told them about the dinner, right?"

"No," Zero said, fists clenching.

"Not exactly," Kaname added, also allowing his anger to show, a brush of his power filling the room.

"What did you tell them," Yuki pressed again.

He blushed when he told her, "I told them that you had gone missing."

"He sent us on a wild goose chase," Zero stated.

"I sent you boys out there to prove you can work together to achieve a goal," he corrected.

"You mean you set us up?"

He looked surprised, defensive. "Hey now, it's not like that! You were able to work together right? You found Yuki, just like I knew you would!"

There was an eerie calm in the room as Headmaster Cross awaited a reaction -- any reaction -- from the boys. The reaction came in the form a single look, an identical look he had never seen from either student. He held his breath as the boys moved as one towards him. Had he gone too far? Surely they saw the point to his game. Didn't they?

"I'll hold him down. You hit him."

"Sounds like a plan."

"Hold on... What do you think you're doing?!"

Zero's smile was lopsided. "I guess we have more than one thing in common after all."

Kaname's mouth twitched into something akin to a smirk. "Indeed."

"Guys," Yuki asked, a pout on her lips. "What about the food?"

"You worked very hard," Kaname acknowledged.

"We need to work up a bigger appetite," said Zero.

"It won't take long," they stated in unison.

The Headmaster truly looked frightened as the boys advanced. "Help. Yuki, help daddy. Help...me... EEP!"

In the midst of the screaming, Yuki only sighed.

--FIN--

DISCLAIMER:  
Vampire Knight, the title and its characters, are the property of Matsuri Hino (c) 2004, published by Hakusensha in Japan and translated and distributed in America and Canada by VIZ Media LLC. No permission was asked to use the characters for this story. No profit is being made, either.


End file.
